The last official census took place in Kenya back in 2009 when it was confirmed that 38,610,097 people were living in the country. Estimates are released on a regular basis, and in 2011, it was claimed that those numbers had risen to 41 million, which has since increased to 50.95 million in 2018.

Nairobi is also home to one of the largest slums in the world. The slum of Kibera, housed approximately 250,000 of the 2.5 million slum dwellers in the city. Most people in Kibera live on less than $1 per day and HIV is rampant. There is a shortage of clean water and education, and in addition to these shortcomings, rape and assault cases are common. The slum has recently been partially destroyed in an effort to place updated roads in the area to reduce traffic congestion, and this destruction for construction suddenly displaced numerous residents in the area.

Other major cities include Mombasa (pop: 1.2 million), Kisumu (400,000), and Nakuru (300,000).

Kenya Demographics

Coming back to the issue of diverse ethnicity, it's interesting to consider the many varied groups that make up the population of Kenya. Based on data from the CIA World Factbook, they can be divided as follows:

Kenya's population is very diverse and home to most of Africa's linguistic and ethnoracial groups. There are believed to be at least 42 communities, although Nilotes (30%) and Bantus (67%) account for a majority, followed by Cushitic groups, Arabs, Indians, and Europeans.

When we examine the diversity of religion in Kenya, the World Factbook gives us a breakdown of Christian 83% (Protestant 47.7%, Catholic 23.4%, other Christian 11.9%), Muslim 11.2%, Traditionalists 1.7%, other 1.6%, none 2.4%, and unspecified at 0.2% of the population, as estimated in 2009.

The official languages used in Kenya include English (official), Kiswahili (official), and numerous indigenous languages and dialects.

Kenya Population Growth and Life Expectancy

Kenya has sustained population growth, but it has both high birth and infant mortality rates. This is consistent with Africa as a whole. There has been marked improvement in life expectancy, particularly in recent years. In 2006, the average level stood at 48.9 years. This figure rose, however, to around 59 years in 2016. This has increased to 64 years of age in 2018. The current median age is only 19.7 years of age in Kenya.

Quality of Life in Kenya

The World Factbook also has a collection of information that pertains to quality of life. In terms of healthcare, Kenya spends approximately 5.7% of the national GDP on this sector, earning it a low physician density of .2 per 1,000 individuals and only 1.4 hospital beds per 1,000 residents. When we turn to sanitation and clean drinking water access, only 63.2% have improved access to drinking water and only 30.1% of the total population has access to improved sanitation facilities. In addition to these relatively poor numbers, educational spending is at 5.3% of the GDP and only 78% of the population over 15 years of age can read and write. The figures likely give some influence to the prevalance of HIV/AIDS in the country, which currently estimates 4.8% of adults living with the disease, and a death rate from HIV/AIDS of at least 28,000.

How Many People Live in Kenya?

Timezones in Kenya

Kenya Population Growth

With improved life expectancy and a drop in infant mortality, Kenya seems set to build on an ever increasing growth in population. By 2020, the UN predicts that the Kenyan population will have risen to 51.7 million.

Data Sources

Total population: Estimated to be consistent with the 1962, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009 censuses adjusted for underenumeration and with estimates of the subsequent trends in fertility, mortality and international migration.